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BOE updated on ‘Disney’s Descendants’ Local students to perform in Syracuse Children’s Theatre musical electric bus transition By kate hill Staff writer
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The Syracuse Children’s Theatre is presenting “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical.” The production’s four casts include several local students. Pictured are cast members from “Doo Wep Wed Widing Hood.” By kate Hill Staff Writer In December, the Syracuse Children’s Theatre (SCT) will present 12 performances of “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” in the John H. Mulroy Civic Center - Carrier Theatre. According to SCT Executive Director and Founder Todd Ellis, the production features five students from the local 13035 zip code. Maya Jenkins, grade 7, will appear as “Maleficent;” Jayce Hyatt, grade 9, as “Jay;” Ava Hyatt, grade 2, as “Auradonian;” Bobby McDowell, grade 6, as “Auradonian 1;” and Grace Besaw, grade 2, as “Isle Ensemble.” “SCT is great because you get to meet so many great people and have fun acting with them,” said Jayce. “This is my third show with them. I could not recommend
doing it more.” Adapted from the Disney Channel Original Movies, “Descendants,” the musical tells the story of four children of Disney villains Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil. When the teens are sent from the Isle of the Lost to the kingdom of Auradon to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they must decide whether to follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good. SCT is a not-for-profit organization that has served as a theatrical training ground for Central New York children since 1999. Throughout the year, the theatre provides semester-long classes and oneand two-week school break camps, all of which culminate in a production at the Civic Center. SCT’s main artistic staff consists of
Director Babs Rubenstein, Choreographer Kellie Ellis, and Music Director Nikita Richards, who are all full-time employees. Each three-hour class session also has five part-time staff members/assistant teachers. Through SCT’s instruction and final performance, pre-K through grade 12 students learn the fundamentals of theatre, including audition preparation, dance/ movement, music, and scene work. According to Ellis, 95 percent of SCT classes culminate in a musical theatre production. “We have had four one-hour productions of plays by William Shakespeare during our 5th Summer session over the years, including ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and ‘As You Like It,’” Ellis said. “[However,] most students want musicals, thus SCT l Page 13
During the Nov. 20 Cazenovia Central School District (CCSD) Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business/School Business Official Thomas Finnerty provided an update on the steps the district has taken so far to prepare for the upcoming transition to an all-electric bus fleet. New York State has mandated that all new school bus purchases must be zero emission by 2027 and all school buses on the road must be fully electric by 2035. Finnerty reported that he and a few other district administrators met with a grant writer the previous week to start the process of developing a request for proposal for a shared garage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure feasibility study. CCSD has been awarded $25,000 in state funding to support the study. The school district, the Village of Cazenovia, the Town of Cazenovia, and the Town of Nelson will use the funding to explore opportunities to consolidate bus and highway garage infrastructure and resources. The study will also examine the feasibility of shared electric vehicle charging infrastructure. “We are going to commission a study looking at what services might be practical for us to share,” said Finnerty. “Would it be a charging facility only? Would it be nothing? Would it be a facility where we could charge and do repairs and maintenance to these electric vehicles? So, we are really at the beginning stages of [determining] what is really possible.” The funding was awarded through the NYS Local Government Efficiency Program, which provides technical assistance and grants for inter-municipal projects targeting shared opportunities, cost savings, and the delivery of efficient, quality services. The application was prepared on behalf of CCSD by Lauren Lines, executive director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association. The grant requires a minimum local match of $25,000. “The district and the [municipalities] would have to put up $25,000, and the state pays $25,000,” Finnerty said. Finnerty also informed the board that the district commissioned a company to conduct a study of the CCSD bus routes to determine the types of buses that will be needed, the battery capacity they will require, and the charging infrastructure necessary to power the buses to operate on a daily basis. Prior to that study, Finnerty asked National Grid to conduct an evaluation of potential transportation facility sites. “They thought at that point that our current facility had a suitable amount of electricity,” Finnerty said. “Keep in mind, BOE l Page 13
Christmas at Lorenzo returns with a celebration of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ By kate Hill Staff Writer
This holiday season, the Lorenzo mansion will open its doors to the public from Dec. 5-10 to celebrate Christmas at Lorenzo: “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The New York State historic site hosted its first Christmas at Lorenzo program in 1974. “Christmas at Lorenzo has become a tradition for many folks in Central New York, and we are thrilled to continue that this year with ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas,’” said Historic Site Manager Matthew MacVittie. “Please join us to view the beautifully decorated mansion and take a horse-drawn sleigh/wagon ride through the beautiful grounds of Lorenzo State Historic Site.” In preparation for the celebration, volunteer decorators were each assigned one of the gifts detailed in the classic English Christmas carol and invited to use their creativity to incorporate that theme into their holiday adornments. According to Interpretive Programs Assistant Jacqueline Roshia, the entire mansion, including the two historic bathrooms on view, has been decorated. This year’s volunteer decorators include Wendy Van der Bogart; Elizabeth and Nancy Whiting; Syracuse Garden Club members Pat Hill, Pam Ellis, and Judy Larter; Linda and Jeffrey Kellish; Barbara Bartlett; Kathleen Conway Hoak; Dixie Conway; Jaime Colvin; Mark Smith; Kerstin and Megan McKay; Elizabeth Koennecke; Beth Duffy; Laura Loveland-Leitch; Susan Anthony; Mary Gasparini; Kristen Rubacka; and Lorenzo Driving Competition members Carol Buckhout, Cindy Torelli, Carol Ilacqua, Judy Sears, Marjie Tormey, Weese
Sullivan, Janis Barth, Peter Barth, Taylor Pelcher, Courtney Livecchi, and Sue Woltman. “I have decorated different rooms at Lorenzo for at least 10 years,” said Ellis, who is vice president of the Syracuse Garden Club. “Is anything nicer than being a part of Christmas at Lorenzo? It is always special to use various pieces from the Lorenzo collection when decorating the rooms.” According to Roshia, the entire Lorenzo staff is involved in making the Christmas event happen each year. This year, staff decorator Elizabeth Whiting worked with her mother, Nancy, in the formal dining room. Whiting also worked with staff member Melinda Reeder to decorate the mansion exhibit wing and gift shop. “Alison Boissonnas, also known as Rippleton Schoolhouse Marm Miss Buckland, will have the schoolhouse decorated, [and] our maintenance staff — Jennifer Quinn, Jeremy Bushaw, Tommy Eberl, and Spencer Eberst — do all the outside decorating, including a festive photo-op spot in the Dark Aisle.,” said Roshia. Traditional guided mansion tours will be offered from Tuesday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. With support from the Friends of Lorenzo (FOL), the celebration will continue with tours of the decorated mansion, live music, wassail and sweet treats, and horse-drawn sleigh/wagon rides with Lamplit Farm on Thursday, Dec. 7, and Friday, Dec. 8, from 7 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. On Dec. 10, the sleigh/wagon ride will take visitors to the Rippleton Schoolhouse to meet the schoolmarm, Miss Buckland, and make a holiday ornament to take
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Lorenzo State Historic Site will celebrate “Christmas at Lorenzo: The Twelve Days of Christmas” from Dec. 5-10. home. Admission is $6 for adults and $2 for As visitors tour the mansion on Dec. 7, children ages 12 and under. Cash is preLaine Gilmore will play seasonal favorites ferred for admission fees. on the piano in the drawing room while the Located at 17 Rippleton Rd. in CazenChord Wood Quartet sings holiday classics ovia, Lorenzo is the 1807 Federal-style on the second floor. The Belle Aire Hand- home of John Lincklaen, who was an agent bell Trio will ring in the holidays on Dec. 8 of the Holland Land Company and Cazenand Dec. 9, and the Cazenovia High School ovia’s founder. The Lincklaen/Ledyard Chamber Choir will sing traditional carols family continually occupied Lorenzo until on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. in the visitor center. On the property and its contents were conveyed Dec. 10, Bells and Motley will evoke the to New York State in 1968. The site is operspirit of Christmas past in the mansion, and ated by the New York State Office of Parks, Merry Mischief ’s “Mr. and Mrs. Claus” will Recreation and Historic Preservation and delight guests of all ages. supported with help from the non-profit Visitors can stop in the gift shop to pe- FOL. ruse a variety of distinctive giftable items For more information on Lorenzo’s holand take advantage of the end-of-season iday celebration, call 315-655-3200 or visit sale. friendsoflorenzo.org/annual-events.
Volume 214, Number 48 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
sports news: Senior student-athletes announce college plans.
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community events: Cazenovia Heritage plans presentation.
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calendar ������������������ 11 #cnystrong ���������14-15 Editorial ��������������������� 6 history ������������������������ 7
letters ������������������������ 6 Obituaries ���������������� 11 PennySaver ���������������� 8 Sports ����������������������� 16